[2] He moved back to Courtenay and worked as a teacher at Georges P. Vanier Secondary School from the mid-1990s until his election as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2009.

While on council he voted against allowing businesses to stay open late-night,[4][5] supported surveillance cameras in public areas,[6] and led an initiative to rename streets after specific, locally-significant people.

[11] McRae disliked how the Comox-Strathcona Regional District operated, calling the urban-rural voting blocks "dysfunctional".

[16] After Comox Valley MLA Stan Hagen suddenly died of a heart attack in January 2009, the BC Liberal Party had to nominate someone new for the up-coming May 2009 general election.

Shellfish Growers' Association executive director Roberta Stevenson, Salvation Army manager Shawn Wilson, Habitat for Humanity worker Jon Toogood, and Comox Valley Airport Commissioner Ken Dawson (though Dawson withdrew several weeks before the nomination vote).

McRae won the riding with 47% of the vote in the 39th general election with his BC Liberal Party forming the government after winning 49 of province's 85 seats.

As the 39th Parliament of British Columbia began, McRae was not selected for the Executive Council by Premier Gordon Campbell.

McRae defended the government budget presented in September 2009 but was disappointed it ran a deficit, blaming an unexpected drop in revenue.

[29][30] The group collected over 10,000 signatures from the Comox Valley riding on a petition opposing the HST and launched a recall initiative against McRae.

[35] In March 2011, after Christy Clark won the leadership election and was named Premier, she included McRae into her Executive Council as Minister of Agriculture.